Firearm.



or less dangerous to use the weapon.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

JOSEPH H. WESSON, OF SPRINGFIELD. MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SMITH & WESSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIREARM.

Application led November 6, 1912.

To @ZZ whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, .Tosi-irrt H. lVEssoN, acitizen of the United States. residing in Springfield. in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts. have invented an Improvement in Firearms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying' drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to an automatic fire arm of the so-called blow back type in which the reaction of the gases causes the breech bolt to move back when the fire arm is discharged, allowing the empty shell to be ejected and a new cartridge inserted from the magazine. lt has been the usual practice in lire arms of this kind to utilize the recoil movement of the breech bolt to cock the hammer; and in this case it is necessary to provide the lock with automatic latching mechanism independent of the trigger to hold the hammer cocked, because the automatic action is so rapid that it is impossible to relax the muscular effort employed in pulling the trigger in time to catch the hammer if the catching of the hammer depends upon the restoration of the trigger to its normal position. The automatic mechanism employed to catch the hammer must of necessity be so delicate that in some cases it may fail to operate, the result being that several and perhaps all of the cartridges are discharged in rapid succession after the trigger has been once pulled, so that it is more Furthermore. in a weapon of this kind after the first discharge. the hammer is left at full cock if everything operates normally, so that itis dangerous tocarry the weapon, because a pull on the trigger w'll produce a discharge under these circumstances.

It is the purpose of the present invention to utilize the blow back principle for ejecting the spent shell and reloading, without cooking the hammer or compressing the hammer spring. In accordance with the invention, the hammer or firing pin. or any equivalent device, is entirely inactive after the pistol has been tired. the operation of the hammer being solely under the control of the trigger, the pull of which compresses the hammer spring?r or its equivalent and releases the same to fire the pistol after the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Serial No. 729.748.

manner of the well known self cocking revolver.

ln carrying out the invention. the hammer or firingpin.together with its spring orcquiv-A moves forward to push the new cartridge' into the chamber. the hammer spring is inactive. and has no tendency to force the hammer against the primer as the breech bolt moves forward. The trigger is arranged so that at each operation when the pistol is loaded and the breech bolt is in tiring position itwill operate on the hammer spring or its equivalent to compress and release the same. thus causing the pistol to be .ired, there being. however. no connection between the trigger and the tiring pin or hammer, and the breech bolt during the recoil operation. l

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pistol embodying the invention. shown partly in section; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line n# of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing the pistol with the trigger pulled nearly to its firing position: and Fig. -l is a similar section showing the pistol with the parts in the position which they would cou'nnonly assume after the cartridge had been fired.

Referring to Figs. l. 3 and l. the barrel 1 is stationary with relation to the pistol frame. which is provided with a guide sleeve 2 surrounding the reciprocating breech bolt which is provided on its under surface with a shoulder -l to engage the outer end of the recoil, or reaction spring, 5, which is located in a recess in the frame below the barrel.

The reciprocating bolt is mainly in the form of a cylinder. the forwardfend being sleeved on the barrel. while the rear end has a face to close 4the breech of the barrel. and a recess which contains the hammer or tiring pin and its spring. The sleeve portion in frontof the breech closing face is provided with an opening through which the Spent Shen is eje-eea whiie the boit is" .blown back.

Iirthe normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the bolt is forward with the breech closing face in engagement with the rear en d of the barrel which contains the cartridge 7. The operation of the pistol is substantially like that of any other automatic pistol of the blow back type, the bolt-being forced back against the action of the spring by the reaction of the forces when the cartridge is fired, the spent shell being ejected and a new shell inserted through thefac- ',tioi'i of the usual .ejector mechanism and magazine, which have not beenherein show'n, since' they toi-m no part of the present invention.` lith the pistol in the' firing condition shown in Figs. 1' and 3, however, the hammer or its equivalent is not cocked and is incapable of any automatic movement' whatever, being in fact elitirely inactive and wholly dependent for its action upon a pull of the trigger or equivalent' device the operation of which is neces sary in order to produce the result.

As herein shown, the pistol is provided with a'ring pin 9 which is 'contained in the rear end of the bolt, and is adapted to'be acted upon by a spring 10, which, as shown' in Figs. 1 and 4, is normally relaxed and ca pable of being compressed only by the action of the trigger or its equivalent in firing .the weapon. The spring 10 is shown as located between va stationary shoulder 12 at the end of a recess in the bolt, and a movable shoulder 13 which is connected with the firing pin 9. ASo long, therefore, as the -shoulder13 is not acted upon by any-outsi de the firing pin springlO during the first vpart-of the trigger movement, vand releasing the said springfby a continued movement, so that the firing pin can act upon the car tridge in the chamber. In the construction A shown, the pistol is provided with an elbow lever 14 pivoted inthe vframe belowgthe breech bolt, the upper end of said elbow lelVer lying in front of a projection 15,

formed on the iring,pin', while the 'lower end of said elbow le-vei" is engaged by a seal-'1 6 pivotally connected with the trigger 17, the said sear being pivoted to an exten# sion at the rear end of the trigger and provided with a tail 1S adapted to be engaged by a fixed stop 19 when the trigger -is pulled, whichcauses the said' sear to lbe rocked, as shown in Fig. 3, out of engage- -nient with the elbow lever. In the pull of the position shown in Fig.`1 by means of a spring 20. The trigger is shown as provided with a restoring spring Q1. fter the discharge-has taken place, the spring 10 remains inactive and there is n'o `independent movement of thefiring pin with relation to the breech member, the breech member, the

with the spring relaxed.

In the construction shown` the projection 15 is offset laterally `from the firingpin 9, and enters a guideway in the breech bolt which serves to keep 4the iiring pin in position. By this construction, moreover, the firing mechanism is located at one side, so as not to interfere with the delivery of the cartridges from the magazine, which is located in the grip.

VThat I claim is: j j

In an automatic pistol of the (blow-back type, the combination with a breech bolt adapted to close the breech end of the barrel when the pistol is in condition tol be tired: i breech bolt and having a. lateral shoulder projecting through the saine; a spring located in the breech bolt between the shoul.

firing pin and its spring all moving together of a firing pin "contained iii (the.

der on the firing pin a'nd a fixed shoulder in said breech bolt; an elbow lever pivoted in the frame` one member of said elbow lever lying in the path of the lateral shoulder of the firing pin when the barrel is closed: a

trigger; a scar pivotally connected with the rear-end of said trigger and having a rearward extension, and a latch projecting downward toerigage the other member of said elbow lever; `a searspring yalso con.- nected with the trigger; and a stop to engage the rearward rextension of the said sear.-

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Josiiriifii; Wesson. Witnesses: i f

GEORGE P. CHAPIN, ARTHUR, F. Rows.

Copies of this patent may be obtained 4for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. G. y 

